Alicia Keys and Jack White have recorded the title song for the next Bond film - the first duet on a 007 soundtrack.
Since Sir Paul McCartney and Wings were nominated for an Oscar for the theme song to Live and Let Die in 1974, only one singer’s career has been boosted by cutting a Bond title track. Sheena Easton, the daughter of a Lanarkshire steel worker, went on to sell more than 20 million records after her performance on For Your Eyes Only helped to make her name in the United States.
For 12 other artists and bands in the same period, a 007 commission offered more of a licence to fizzle out. Duran Duran and Garbage broke up soon after their contributions. Carly Simon, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow and Madonna are among the singers who have never threatened to match their greatest pre-Bond successes in their post-Bond careers.
As for the last in the series, can anyone, with hand on heart, remember with great affection You Know My Name by the former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, which announced Daniel Craig’s arrival as Bond in Casino Royale?